Point of View

Waking Lions is written from a third-person omniscient point of view with a focus alternating primarily between the text’s three primary characters Eitan, Sirkit, and Liat. The third-person perspective does, however, occasionally shift to less central characters such as Anat Dor, Davidson, and Sharaf.

Through Waking Lions’ third-person omniscient point of view, Gundar-Goshen offers an intimate view of characters’ thoughts and emotions that helps readers understand how the novel’s protagonists make life-altering decisions. Before abandoning Asum following their collision, Eitan considers whether doctors can salvage Asum’s life, how Liat will respond to his murder of an innocent man, and how long he will sit in jail for the accident. These contemplations generate sympathy for Eitan despite his hit-and-run.

Gundar-Goshen’s MA in clinical psychology shines through her narrative, which offers intricate descriptions of each principle character’s past experiences. These personal revelations...